Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in this standalone adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy. Tintaglia the blue dragon has lost interest in the stunted dragons that emerged from the cocoons of Maulkin’s Serpent Tangle. Dragons are fiercely practical about survival of the fittest, and now that she has produced her own batch of healthy hatching serpents Tintaglia no longer provides for the weak creatures abandoned near Trehaug, the main city of the Rain Wilds. The Rain Wild Council is as ruthless as Tintaglia: Deciding that the pack must be relocated they begin to recruit their least useful citizens to tend the beasts and escort them upriver to better hunting grounds. Because of their proximity to the acid waters and vapours of the Rain Wild River, Rain Wilders are born with deformities that shorten their life expectancy and must wed young and reproduce early if their family lines are to survive. Thymara is long past marriageable age. Having been born with too many abnormalities she should have been exposed as an infant, but her father chose to keep and raise her, against his wife’s wishes. When Thymara’s mother hears that the council is seeking tenders she grasps the chance to be rid of her wild, ugly daughter. But Thymara shows just as much enthusiasm at the prospect of adventure and grabs the opportunity to travel with the dragons. But the youngsters that will herd the dragons are as ignorant as the beasts themselves – both completely unaware that they are being sent into an exile rather than to a sanctuary.

The single worst piece of writing advice I ever got was to stay away from the Internet because it would only waste my time and wouldn’t help my writing. This advice was wrong creatively, professionally, artistically, and personally, but I know where the writer who doled it out was coming from.

…

But the Internet has been very good to me. It’s informed my creativity and aesthetics, it’s benefited me professionally and personally, and for every moment it steals, it gives back a hundred delights. I’d no sooner give it up than I’d give up fiction or any other pleasurable vice.

I think I’ve managed to balance things out through a few simple techniques that I’ve been refining for years.

After all, last year it only took 17 votes to get on the ballot if you happened to have an eligible short story, and anyone can vote as long as they pay the fee to join the World Science Fiction Convention. This year it costs $50, so if you do the math (17 votes x $50), that adds up to a cost of just $850 if you want to fund voting privileges for you and 16 friends. (That assumes voting levels stay the same as they have been for the last two years.)

Once you’ve theoretically bought your way onto the ballot, buying a win would (also theoretically) be harder, but still seemingly within the realm of possibility. It costs about 10 times as much as a nomination, though, and presumably is more difficult to both organize and conceal, since more votes are involved. In 2008, you would have needed 176 in the “cheapest” category of Best Fanzine for a win (and you would have to have been eligible in that category). That adds up to a more sizable $8,800.

Best Novel: Nomination $2,000, Win $18,640

Best Novella: Nomination $1,700, Win $15,750

Best Novelette: Nomination $1,050, Win $14,640

Best Short Story: Nomination $850, Win $16,250 (BEST NOMINATION VALUE)

Best Related Book: Nomination $900, Win $11,750

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Nomination $2,200, Win $19,100 (SUPER BARGAIN!)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Nomination $1,200, Win $16,850

Best Editor, Long Form: Nomination $900, Win $12,900

Best Editor, Short Form: Nomination $1,750, Win $14,000

Best Professional Artist: Nomination $1,000, Win $15,300

Best Semiprozine: Nomination $1,900, Win $13,550

Best Fanzine: Nomination $1,300, Win $8,800 (BEST WIN VALUE)

Best Fan Writer: Nomination $1,200, Win $11,900

Best Fan Artist: Nomination $950, Win $9,250

“Amanda seemed very confident in her knowledge of the Star Wars saga despite never having watched any of the Star Wars films. That was the first good sign. When we sat down to watch them, she started telling me what she thought the plots were going to be, so I told her to hold steady while I went to get my voice recorder.”